Legal & General Group Plc Sells 83,551 Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 26.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 237,879 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 83,551 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Charles River Laboratories International were worth $43,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 1,071.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the 3rd quarter worth $59,000. 98.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Charles River Laboratories International

In other news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total transaction of $715,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,252,112.50. The trade was a 18.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Birgit Girshick acquired 1,514 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $164.63 per share, with a total value of $249,249.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 55,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,064,198.54. The trade was a 2.83 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock opened at $99.56 on Friday. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.86 and a twelve month high of $254.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $156.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a PE ratio of 663.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $983.63 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 0.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target (down previously from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $182.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Profile

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc provides drug discovery, non-clinical development, and safety testing services in the United States, Europe, Canada, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Research Models and Services (RMS), Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA), and Manufacturing Solutions (Manufacturing).